German chancellor visits top Chinese robotics firm, Siemens plant in Hangzhou

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz paid a visit to the eastern Chinese tech hub of Hangzhou on Thursday, where he saw some of the innovations being developed by leading Chinese robotics firm Unitree and stopped by sites operated by German tech multinational Siemens Energy.

Merz had arrived in Beijing on Wednesday to begin a two-day official visit. Chinese President Xi Jinping and Premier Li Qiang met and held talks with Merz on that day, respectively.

The chancellor, who is being accompanied by top executives from 30 German firms, continued his China trip on Thursday with a visit to the Hangzhou-based Unitree Robotics, whose innovative humanoid robot creations have gathered significant global attention.

Merz listened to introductions about some of the cutting-edge robot components being produced by the company before he was treated to a robot boxing demonstration, and a live performance of a segment of the dynamic robot martial arts display that was featured during the 2026 China Media Group Spring Festival Gala, broadcast on the eve of the Chinese New Year.

Members of the German delegation who joined the Unitree tour said they were delighted to get an up-close look at these high-tech robots in action.

"I'm really impressed how deeply these robots function. I mean we always heard (about) it, but seeing it here in real life is really, really impressive," said Claudia Berger-Koch, managing director of the Dusseldorf-based HPP Architects.

Merz and the delegation then visited a site run by Siemens Energy, where he learned about the company's operations in China and toured its circuit breaker production workshop.

Siemens has carried out extensive cooperation with Chinese partners in areas such as energy development, transformation and innovation. It was also among the first firms to invest in south China's Hainan Province after the launch of the island-wide special customs operations as part of the Hainan Free Trade Port (Hainan FTP) in December last year.

German chancellor visits top Chinese robotics firm, Siemens plant in Hangzhou

BMW AG Chairman Oliver Zipse said the automaker will debut its first Neue Klasse model designed specifically for China at the Beijing Auto Show, showcasing a new fusion of German engineering and Chinese digital innovation.

Ties between the two sides are in the spotlight this week as German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in China on Wednesday for a two-day official visit, his first since taking office last May. Zipse is among senior executives from around 30 leading German companies accompanying the chancellor on the trip.

"It is the most Chinese car we've ever built, tailored specifically to the needs and wishes of our Chinese customers," said Zipse in an exclusive interview with China Global Television Network (CGTN) on Tuesday.

Zipse stressed that the car's innovations stem directly from BMW's deep partnerships with Chinese tech leaders.

"It features many innovations from our partnerships with leading Chinese players as, for example, battery cells come from CATL, autonomous driving stack is jointly developed with Momenta, and the large language model for the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant is the result of our longstanding partnership with Alibaba," he said.

He presented these partnerships as a blueprint for the future of the global auto industry.

"These features are a perfect example of cross-border collaboration, joint pioneering spirit and mutual openness," Zipse said.

The 2026 Beijing Auto Show is scheduled to be held in Beijing from April 24 to May 3.

BMW to unveil China-tailored Neue Klasse at Beijing Auto Show